Fish Thread

[fuzzi]

Pictures!?

My Ember tetras arrived, appear to be fine.

View attachment 3669710
View attachment 3669711
They're so tiny!

They're not hiding anymore!

 

[fluffycrow]

Pictures!?

My Ember tetras arrived, appear to be fine.

View attachment 3669710
View attachment 3669711
They're so tiny!

Gorgeous ! At the time of posting that comment I had not yet received my fish, I was just commenting that I hadn't regretted choosing them even before acquiring them. Later in the day they did come. Got 8 chilli rasbora. 2 passed within the two 1-2 hours. The other six seem to be doing great. They're swimming around, exploring, and have colored up quite a bit. Fed them just a little after having them in the aquarium for 5 or more hours, and they enjoyed the krill flakes, although they're not so keen on swimming so close to the surface, they're mainly looking for food in the lower parts of the aquarium. I love them. They are very amusing to watch eat and swim, and really pretty. I even think I saw two males sparring today. No photos though, they're so tiny and they move constantly

 

[fluffycrow]

They're not hiding anymore!
View attachment 3669719
View attachment 3669720

Ah! They're coloring up nicely!

 

[fuzzi]

A lesson of what can happen even if you're an experienced aquarist...

I was expecting my new fish to arrive today, had cleaned the 5.5g quarantine tank previously. I did a nitrate test this morning and couldn't believe the results, 100ppm!

That is death level, folks. I've not seen that in one of my aquariums for 7 years. What caused it? Maybe it's a rebound from the thorough cleaning of the 5.5g tank.

Reducing nitrates is simple, water changes.

I did a 2g water change, NO3 (nitrates) went down to 80ppm. Another 2g water change, down to 40ppm. Another 2g water change, down to 20ppm. Good enough, the tetras arrived.

I'll be monitoring the NO3 daily.

Don't assume the water parameters are fine, invest in a few test kits (not strips) and use them regularly.

 

[fluffycrow]

A lesson of what can happen even if you're an experienced aquarist...

I was expecting my new fish to arrive today, had cleaned the 5.5g quarantine tank previously. I did a nitrate test this morning and couldn't believe the results, 100ppm!

That is death level, folks. I've not seen that in one of my aquariums for 7 years. What caused it? Maybe it's a rebound from the thorough cleaning of the 5.5g tank.

Reducing nitrates is simple, water changes.

I did a 2g water change, NO3 (nitrates) went down to 80ppm. Another 2g water change, down to 40ppm. Another 2g water change, down to 20ppm. Good enough, the tetras arrived.

I'll be monitoring the NO3 daily.

Don't assume the water parameters are fine, invest in a few test kits (not strips) and use them regularly.

View attachment 3669739

Some very good advice right there. Although I have to admit...I seriously dislike test kits. Their accuracy is the only reason I have one. When I got my first test strips I cross-referenced them with the readings of the test kit. Same reading. I still use the test kit here and there, but I mostly do test strips

 

[fuzzi]

Some very good advice right there. Although I have to admit...I seriously dislike test kits. Their accuracy is the only reason I have one. When I got my first test strips I cross-referenced them with the readings of the test kit. Same reading. I still use the test kit here and there, but I mostly do test strips

They're a pain to use, but once my tanks are cycled and stable, and if I do my weekly water changes, I should only have to use the nitrate kit. The ammonia and nitrite kits consistently read zero. And my pH is neutral from the water conditioner/buffer.

 

[fluffycrow]

They're a pain to use, but once my tanks are cycled and stable, and if I do my weekly water changes, I should only have to use the nitrate kit. The ammonia and nitrite kits consistently read zero. And my pH is neutral from the water conditioner/buffer.

Oh definitely. When I was cycling this aquarium, I used the test kits all the time. Such, and I mean such a pain, but it's for the better. At least you'll only have to do one test once everything cycles

 

[fuzzi]

Video!

 

[fluffycrow]

Video!

So active! Swimming all over the place

 

[Tookie]

Floating plants get the best of both worlds. They're crazy close to the light, direct access to oxygen. Their roots suck up everything there is to "eat" in the water column. Stem plants are limited to their substrate

I see! Sounds cool.
But I do like plants on the bottom though to fill up the tank some.